Publication

This essay argues that the World Bank should be ambitious in working towards clean energy approaches in its development strategies. However, the authors argue, it would be a mistake to definitively rule out coal in all circumstances. Doing so would undermine the very goals that the bank’s coal critics espouse by further pitting developing and developed countries against each other in the climate debate occurring within the bank. The key challenges, they contend, are to identify the relevant development needs related to coal-fired generation, to define the role of the bank, and to elaborate guidelines to direct decisions.